Top 10 Oprah Episodes

In 1991, Rodney King, a black man from Los Angeles, was pulled over by police after a high-speed chase. An amateur video that was seen around the world showed LAPD officers hitting King more than 50 times with a baton and kicking him six times before handcuffing and arresting him. After a trial on police brutality charges ended with a not-guilty verdict for the officers, some black residents of L.A. rioted and looted. In 1992, everyone in America had an opinion about the verdict and the riots—and Oprah was in Los Angeles to hear them out.

When Oprah wheeled out that red wagon of fat in 1988, she thought her war with weight was over, but it had only just begun. In this 1993 show, Oprah read from her personal journals about the humiliation of getting up to 226 pounds, and then announced the big change in her life: personal trainer Bob Greene! In Bob's first show, he demonstrated why confronting the emotional element of weight loss is just as important as nutrition and exercise.

When Mike Sisco, a gay man with AIDS, jumped into a swimming pool in Williamson, W.Va., townsfolk flipped out, and a full-blown panic ensued. Oprah's show came to town and featured all sides of the story.

The famously media-shy King of Pop opened the doors to his menagerie of a property to Winfrey. He denied some of the stranger reports about him and offered an explanation to his obvious changes in appearance: Plastic surgery (duh!) and a disease called vitiligo explained his very pale skin (hm…).

Phillips’ confessions to a long-term sexual relationship with her father, Mamas & the Papas member John Phillips, were explosive. It started with a drug-fueled rape at age 19, moved into his offer to run away with her and then ended 10 years later with a pregnancy and abortion

Before she started hosting her nationally televised show, Oprah had a local talk show in Baltimore. One of her first guests on that Baltimore show was Truddi Chase, a woman who, after suffering sexual abuse by her stepfather that started when she was 2 years old, split into 92 distinct personalities.

Phil McGraw, a psychologist who worked with Oprah's legal team during the defamation trial, made his first appearance on the show. The rest is history.

Oprah and her staff brought in a planeload of cute, single Alaskan men who were in the market for wives. When their plane arrived in Chicago, rabid bachelorettes stormed the airport. The show is listed as one of Oprah's favorite moments.

Oprah's first interview with Taylor, in 1988, was legendary. The movie star wouldn't talk about her many marriages and gave curt answers to many questions. Oprah later found out that Taylor had been suffering from back and hip pain. Four years later, Taylor returned and was ready to dish.

In her first interview after being convicted in the murder of her ex-husband and his second wife, California housewife Betty Broderick opened up about why she did it. Her story was later made into a TV movie.